For Wood, who has been proprietor of Glenstone Galleries since 1989, the key is stretching beyond his own tastes and preferences and searching for unique pieces that will appeal to a wide range of art lovers.
“I’m always looking for interesting subjects and vibrant colors,” he notes.
In his never-ending quest for fresh inventory, Wood frequently travels around the country in search of new prints and originals to offer his customers.
“Most of our art inventory is lithographs and giclees, but about a one-quarter of the gallery is original artwork,” Wood adds.
And whether your purchase is a print or original, Glenstone Galleries will help you enhance and protect your art with custom framing services. The shop has some 1,200 frame samples in stock as well as catalogs for those who need to place special orders.
“Our main focus has always been art and framing,” he says. “We’ve had so many repeat customers over the years and have developed a market for art framing for occasions like holidays and anniversaries.”
Most of Wood’s frame stock is made by Larson-Juhl, including the manufacturer’s handmade Concerto line.
“We measure your art and send in the dimensions, and your Concerto frame is custom-made specifically for your piece of art. The process takes five to six weeks,” he says.
Wood, a certified picture framer, notes that the majority of his in-house framing is high-end work, with a focus on conserving and preserving both artwork and family keepsakes with quality.
“Anybody can buy a hammer and nail and call themselves a framer, but a certified framer knows the right papers and glazing to use with any given piece,” he explains. “I frame things to last. If it’s worth framing, it’s worth framing correctly. I’m not competing with discount framers.”
Glenstone Galleries also offers a wide selection of gifts and home-décor pieces, many of which can’t be found elsewhere locally. Items include handmade holiday ornaments by Baldwin, Jim Shore figurines, Willow Tree Angels and handmade Byers Carolers.
“Each caroler is unique and totally different from every other piece,” says Wood.
You’ll also find one corner of the store devoted to University of Tennessee memorabilia, as well as merchandise ranging from jewelry to stained-glass pieces to handmade paperweights. And inspired by Wood’s own daughter, the shop even carries Hello Kitty products for girls.
Wood took over ownership of Glenstone Galleries in 1989, offering custom framing services out of an 800-square-foot space in Midland Plaza in Alcoa. A few years later, he expanded to a larger store in the plaza and added gallery space. Finally, he added gifts and home décor to his inventory when he moved to his current Midland Plaza shop in 2002.
Wood has 31 years of framing experience, dating back to his college days in Florida, when his early framing jobs helped him pay for school. Years later, he moved to Tennessee with plans to become a stock broker, but soon realized that sitting behind a desk all day didn’t suit him very well.
“I needed to be creative, so I went back to framing,” he says. “Sometimes you have to get away from something for a while before you realize what you want. I’m lucky to make a living doing something that I love to do.”
